A DeKalb County mother says she pulled her 12-year-old son out of McNair Middle School after seeing classroom videos that appear to show other students physically bullying him while teachers were not intervening. She has filed a police report and moved him to a different school on Atlanta’s west side.
Tanisha Pitts says she did not grasp how bad things had gotten until another parent sent her several clips recorded in class. The videos appear to show her son being hit and dragged across the room. "One child slapped him in the face and dragged him by his hoodie," Pitts said in an interview, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta. She met with school officials after seeing the footage, then decided to withdraw him.
The DeKalb County School District says it takes bullying reports seriously and has opened an investigation into what happened. The district points families to its "BULLYING STOPS HERE!" awareness campaign, which encourages students and staff to sign anti-bullying pledges and offers both an online reporting form and a hotline for serious threats at 1-888-475-0482, according to the DeKalb County School District.
School response and safety plan
The school’s principal has spoken with Pitts and plans to create a safety plan for her son, the district told FOX 5 Atlanta. McNair Middle School lists Tamika Hardaway as principal and shows the campus at 2190 Wallingford Drive in Decatur.
Parent's actions and message to other families
Pitts says she filed a police report and ultimately decided that transferring her son was the only way she felt he would be safe. She is urging other parents to talk often with their children about bullying and to keep a close eye on both their online lives and what is happening during the school day. "It comes from home first, home first," Pitts said.
Other safety incidents near McNair this spring
Concerns about safety around the McNair campus were already bubbling before these bullying allegations surfaced. A March 6 story on a pellet gun blast on a DeKalb school bus reported that a pellet fired through a bus window struck a McNair student, and a shot man dashing into a Decatur school office on March 4 briefly led to a campus lockdown.
How families can report bullying
Families who want to report bullying can fill out the district’s Bullying Reporting Form online or call the hotline at 1-888-475-0482. District policy requires principals to investigate and document all bullying reports, and the district offers resources for students and parents on its Bullying/Harassment/Hazing page, according to the DeKalb County School District.
At this point it is not yet clear whether school discipline or criminal charges will follow. The district says the principal will provide an update after meeting with the family. Pitts says she hopes whatever comes next makes McNair safer for the students who remain.
